DOVER — A slew of shoppers came to the Seacoast area from all over New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine to feast on this year's deep Black Friday discounts and hot selling items, many of which included video games and other electronic devices.

Area chain stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and local malls reported video games and gaming systems were among the fastest-selling electronic items when doors opened early Friday morning. Among the most popular video game products sought out by the long lines of frugal shoppers was the XBOX Kinect system, as well as a Wal-Mart "GoldenEye 007" Nintendo Wii video game bundle which included a controller and T-shirt for $69.96.

Some of the items such as the Kinect system were so popular because of the sale prices, according to officials at the GameStop location in Newington, that customers were urged to instead order online because there was so little of the gaming system to go around.

Several shoppers said they planned all along to do just that so they could have a low-key Black Friday and reap the benefits of a larger selection of the "less popular" items.

"(Black Friday's) not as crazy for us, but we're not after the 'big ticket' items," said Cindy Wheeler, who began shopping at 3 a.m. at the Newington Wal-Mart with her daughter Sarah-Beth Booker. "Everyone wants electronics, we just wanted clothes. We'll order our electronics online."

Booker said the mother and daughter team found boots for themselves as they were "supposed to be buying gifts for other people," and aimed to use Black Friday to get as much of their Christmas shopping done as possible.

Stores in many areas noted increased sales this year, including many of the outlet centers in Kittery, Maine. Kittery Tanger Outlets General Manager Mari Hoell said the parking lots were full and people were lining up to get in well before the midnight start of the annual townwide Black Friday extravaganza.

"Traffic and business in Kittery was definitely up compared to last year," she said.

Hoell attributed the increased business this year to an increase in consumer confidence, and she said she was confident the momentum from Friday would continue into the entire month of December.

"People have a better feeling about things and are more confident about the economy," she said. "They seem more at ease."

The National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, has projected up to 138 million people will come to U.S. stores this weekend to cash in on Black Friday savings, as well as an overall 2.3 percent increase in sales during November and December this year. That increase is up significantly over the .4 percent rise in 2009, according to the federation's website.

While shoppers flocked to Seacoast-area stores, some managers and staff said they found Friday's strong sales totals to be not quite as good as other years.

Ellen Paquette, the director of mall services for the Lilac Mall in Rochester, said she and other mall personnel were "very excited" about the crowds huddled near the mall entrances when doors opened at 4 a.m. Friday, although she said the total number of people paled in comparison to previous years. She said the last Saturday before Christmas has begun to replace Black Friday as the busiest day of the year for the mall, a strong trend she said began about four years ago.

"The economy is a big part of it," Paquette said. "People are going to wait to see if there are going to be better sales as we get closer (to Christmas)."

Downtown Dover, Rochester and other smaller-store areas were relatively quiet compared to the malls and big-box stores Friday. Ralph DiBernardo of Jetpack Comics in Rochester called his business for the day "mild" and noted Black Friday isn't always the busiest of days for him.

Most shoppers in the Portsmouth-Newington area said they have been a little more conservative the last few years because of the economy, although they said it hasn't slowed their Black Friday experience much. One thing that did slow some of the shoppers Friday, though, was the fact that they felt some of the discounts were smaller than previous years.

Erin McArdle, of Minnesota, said she was in town on business and decided to take advantage of the sales at the Christmas Tree Shop as well as other stores in the Portsmouth-Newington area. McArdle was one of the shoppers who said they found some of the sales disappointing.

"It was a hit and miss kind of morning," she said, adding she did find some of her "big ticket" items like a printer and fax machine. "Some of the sales weren't as big as I thought they would be."

Among some of the other popular sale items in the Seacoast area Friday were 32-inch Samsung flat-screen televisions at the Somersworth Walmart for $328 apiece, as well as 30-piece cooking sets for $25, and $20 HP Deskjet printers. A Kenmore washer and dryer set for $599 brought "a lot of attention" to Sears in the Lilac Mall, according to owner Randy Miller, especially early in the day.

Mixed in with the frugal shoppers and early birds Friday morning were many people who said they just came out for the "experience" of Black Friday shopping.

Roxane Besure, an 18-year-old exchange student from Brussels, Belgium, got a taste of her first Black Friday this year when she came to Newington at 4 a.m. with her host family. She said the trip was both unique and fun.

"We don't have a day like this in Belgium, where there's one crazy day of shopping."

Susan Tanguay, of Rochester, brought Besure to Newington.

She said her goal was to get some of her Christmas shopping done as well as have a good time with her kids and their friends. Tanguay said they aren't "the type of people that are out there with the fliers with items circled on it," and instead went "from store to store to see what's good."

While she said she didn't get much of her shopping complete because her kids were with her, she did leave with both a smile and a full load of bags as their shopping experience wound down at the Fox Run Mall.